US closed embassies after “Legion of Doom” AQ conference call

posted at 10:01 am on August 7, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

What kind of intelligence did the US develop that caused the Obama administration to take the drastic and unprecedented step of closing almost two dozen embassies for more than a week? The Daily Beast’s Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report from their sources that the intel community intercepted a global al-Qaeda conference call run by Ayman al-Zawahiri, one which demonstrated his control over the umbrella organization and the enthusiasm of its affiliate participants, including relatively new additions from Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. One source called the aggregate the “Legion of Doom”:

Several news outlets reported Monday on an intercepted communication last week between Zawahiri and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda’s affiliate based in Yemen. But The Daily Beast has learned that the discussion between the two al Qaeda leaders happened in a conference call that included the leaders or representatives of the top leadership of al Qaeda and its affiliates calling in from different locations, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence. All told, said one U.S. intelligence official, more than 20 al Qaeda operatives were on the call.

To be sure, the CIA had been tracking the threat posed by Wuhayshi for months. An earlier communication between Zawahiri and Wuhayshi delivered through a courier was picked up last month, according to three U.S. intelligence officials. But the conference call provided a new sense of urgency for the U.S. government, the sources said.

Al Qaeda members included representatives or leaders from Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and more obscure al Qaeda affiliates such as the Uzbekistan branch. Also on the call were representatives of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, according to a U.S. intelligence official. The presence of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates operating in the Sinai was one reason the State Department closed the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, according to one U.S. intelligence official. “These guys already proved they could hit Eilat. It’s not out of the range of possibilities that they could hit us in Tel Aviv,” the official said. …

“This was like a meeting of the Legion of Doom,” one U.S. intelligence officer told The Daily Beast, referring to the coalition of villains featured in the Saturday morning cartoon Super Friends.

Of course, the problem with this revelation — actually the original leak specifying the intercept of the communication between Zawahiri and Wuhayshi — is that it has tipped off AQ about the lack of security on their conference calls. That will make it more difficult for the US to keep tabs on the group, but it also forces AQ to find another way to exert central control over the collective. That will continue to be a problem with an organization known for its effective coordination and strategic targeting.

This also demonstrates that the concept of “core al-Qaeda” as something separate from the whole is an illusion. Clearly, Zawahiri remains in control of the organization, demanding action from AQAP and assigning roles to individual members. Wuhayshi got promoted to a general-manager position for the entire network in the course of this call, for instance, and affiliates reported operational status to Zawahiri on attacks planned for the near future. It was this information — the assurance given that assets were already in place for the next series of attacks — which drove the response from the US:

The promotion effectively gave the leader of al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen operational control of al Qaeda’s many affiliates throughout the Muslim world, the official said, a key factor that led the State Department to close embassies, missions, and consulates throughout the region. “All you need to do is look at that list of places we shut down to get a sense of who was on the phone call,” the official said.

Not everyone agrees with the response, however. Yemen in particular expressed indignation over the closing of the embassy and the evacuation of US personnel from their country, saying it only encourages more terrorism:

Yemeni officials on Tuesday sharply denounced the United States’ decision to evacuate some of its staff from its embassy in the country in the first sign of a split between allies over the Obama administration’s reaction to what U.S. officials say is one of the most specific terrorism threats in years.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Yemen said it “appreciates foreign governments’ concern for the safety of their citizens.” But it added that the decision by

the United States and Great Britain to evacuate “embassy staff serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism.”

“Yemen has taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions in the capital,” the statement said. “Yemen remains strongly committed to the global effort to counter the threats of al Qaida and its affiliates.”

If ordinary Americans are confused, they’re in good company. Analysts who’ve devoted their careers to studying al Qaida and U.S. counterterrorism strategy can’t really make sense of it, either. There’s general agreement that the diffuse list of potential targets has to do with either specific connections authorities are tracking, or places that might lack the defenses to ward off an attack. Beyond that, however, even the experts are stumped.

Take this sampling of reactions from prominent al Qaida observers:

“It’s crazy pants – you can quote me,” said Will McCants, a former State Department adviser on counterterrorism who this month joins the Brookings Saban Center as the director of its project on U.S. relations with the Islamic world.

“We just showed our hand, so now they’re obviously going to change their position on when and where” to attack, said Nada Bakos, a former CIA analyst who was part of the team that hunted Osama bin Laden for years.

“It’s not completely random, but most people are, like, ‘Whaaat?’ ” said Aaron Zelin, who researches militants for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and blogs about them at Jihadology.net.

In this case, I’d tend to agree with the Yemenis. The proper response would have been to boost security around the embassies with a show of force, along with the aggressive operations under way now in Yemen and other place to go on the offensive against al-Qaeda. It may not be “crazy pants,” but it’s handing AQ a propaganda victory on the cheap.

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The promotion effectively gave the leader of al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen operational control of al Qaeda’s many affiliates throughout the Muslim world, the official said, a key factor that led the State Department to close embassies, missions, and consulates throughout the region. “All you need to do is look at that list of places we shut down to get a sense of who was on the phone call,” the official said.

Unpossible. Islam is the Religion of Peace.® They’ve told me that themselves. And threatened to cut off my head if I didn’t believe them.

Thank you, Barry Oblowmo, for officially showing the enemy that any future threats made against the United States will be met with the swift beating of feet as we head for the proverbial hills like the chicken-s**t cowards outfits like al-Qaeda, will view us as being.

I’ll give the Legion of Doom this much credit. They’re using conference calls. Other evil organizations like the IRS should learn a few lessons in that. Granted there is no video of Zawahiri and Nasser al-Wuhayshi line dancing or dressing up like Spock. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure the LOD didn’t blow millions of dollars on a Vegas boondoggle.

Do they know what was communicated during the meeting? Perhaps it had an entirely innocent explanation, like maybe it was a presentation by al Qaeda HR explaining their new healthcare plan, or the a newer and more generous 401K.

intercepted a global al-Qaeda conference call run by Ayman al-Zawahiri

These people are not stupid, unlike the current occupant of the white house and his degenerate clown posse. They know they are being surveilled, round the clock. AQ conference call. Anyone buying that has the IQ of a bag of hammers.

Jeez Louise.

Ed is correct. Give the Marine guards BULLETS, permission to fire on anyone trying to unlawfully enter the compound, refusing to stop, and then get back. The embassies will be safe.

Speaking as an Obama-hating conservative, I like the name. Low-information voters can relate to “Legion of Doom.” Their eyes glass over and they start thinking of the last episode of Toddlers and Tiaras if you start talking about counterinsurgency or how Al Qaeda’s organization in Yemen is an affiliated group.

There’s a good chance AQ pulled a fast one on our intellegence and made sure we heard the call.They know how Obama loves to toot his own horn then scammed him to see his reaction.If so it worked and he ran like the wuss they know he is.I expect an attack soon.

The Daily Beast’s Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report from their sources that the intel community intercepted a global al-Qaeda conference call run by Ayman al-Zawahiri, one which demonstrated his control over the umbrella organization and the enthusiasm of its affiliate participants,

Do they know what was communicated during the meeting? Perhaps it had an entirely innocent explanation, like maybe it was a presentation by al Qaeda HR explaining their new healthcare plan, or the a newer and more generous 401K.

slickwillie2001 on August 7, 2013 at 10:29 AM

They could have been playing poker. These are people who communicate by runners to specifically avoid interception. We are now supposed to believe the head guy arranged a conference call?

I’d be laughing except our team of idjits bought it for reasons that no one can understand.

There’s a good chance AQ pulled a fast one on our intellegence and made sure we heard the call.They know how Obama loves to toot his own horn then scammed him to see his reaction.If so it worked and he ran like the wuss they know he is.I expect an attack soon.

docflash on August 7, 2013 at 10:31 AM

The terrorists are definitely winning right now. They’ve exploited a cowardly President, weak US foreign policy in the region, and lack of US involvement as a leader. There doesn’t even have to be an attack. Just the threat of one closed down embassies and caused the evacuation of personnel in much the same way embassy people left Saigon. Again, the terrorists are winning even as our government puts a higher premium on spying on its own citizens than on counter-terrorism operations. I guess AQAP has to file for tax exempt status before the rat-eared bastard’s operation cares.

Al Qaeda members included representatives or leaders from Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and more obscure al Qaeda affiliates such as the Uzbekistan branch. Also on the call were representatives of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, according to a U.S. intelligence official.

But, of course, AQ is ‘decimated’.

The presence of aspiring al Qaeda affiliates operating in the Sinai was one reason the State Department closed the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, according to one U.S. intelligence official. “These guys already proved they could hit Eilat. It’s not out of the range of possibilities that they could hit us in Tel Aviv,” the official said

So, the mere ‘presence’ of these guys forced us to shutter our embassy? So I guess we are never going to open those doors again, along with all the others that are closed. Because Lord knows that they aren’t going anywhere. What did we ever do when we had people who wanted to do harm to our installations overseas in years past? Oh yeah, WE DEFENDED THEM!

Of course, the problem with this revelation — actually the original leak specifying the intercept of the communication between Zawahiri and Wuhayshi — is that it has tipped off AQ about the lack of security on their conference calls. That will make it more difficult for the US to keep tabs on the group, but it also forces AQ to find another way to exert central control over the collective.

Because they didn’t know anyone was trying to listen to their calls before.

There really are no words that can accurately describe what has become of our presence on the world stage right now. Can you imagine this happening during any other time in our history when we demonstrated such weakness in the face of a threat? We have essentially shown weakness, turn tails and ran. I am truly flabbergasted, at a loss for words. I actually feel sick knowing what has become of our country.

Obama just demonstrated to the Jihadi’s that they could shut down the US government with just a conference call. What an imbecile.

TulsAmerican on August 7, 2013 at 10:56 AM

and not a shot being fired and with the announcement, Verison lost the A-Q account.

Just like Afghanistan, O announces a surge coupled with a withdrawal date. Now he close 22 embassies for one day and then one week. You think A-Q will forget about their plans after a week’s delay. O has been working with low-information voters for too long (oh look, a squirrel)

“We just showed our hand, so now they’re obviously going to change their position on when and where” to attack, said Nada Bakos, a former CIA analyst who was part of the team that hunted Osama bin Laden for years.

A bag of rocks could have figured THAT out. Maybe Susan Rice with her vast expertise on National Security suggested it and the Community Organizer in Chief thought it sounded cool or something.

It isn’t a coincidence that Obama is putting on this dog and pony show with leaked intel, travel warnings and embassy closings as the anniversary of his inaction and dereliction of duty in Benghazi approaches. He is running scared, knowing attention will be sharply re-focused on Benghazi, his failure to act, and the ongoing cover-up that has concealed his responsibility.

That he chose cowering and retreat as opposed to a show of force and determination to protect American interests is no surprise either. Retreat and apologize are his default responses in foreign policy.

Somebody decided to leak this at an appropriate time and voila, we have another distraction. Other than leaking info that may or may not be true in order to bolster the vacation takers nat sec cred, how did they know this call was going to take place? If there is a mole in the AQ org chart, they’ll be able to narrow it down to a few names and eliminate them. The only specifics we have received is info on the conference call, nothing on the reasons for closing the embassies. They could have blamed the sequester.